I remember this video. 2005, it was Wojtek winter training in Eygpt (I think). Wojtek was owning the Formula scene at that time, he did not use bigger than a 9.8m and got power from fins only. The Sonic 110 was a new "light wind" machine and the HS was on the mk2 version.

Like you, I still have the old F161, next to the F159/F160 I think this is unbeatable for heavy guys for sea breeze fun.

In my books, any full powered planing is better than no planing FW kit is not too heavy these days, and is plenty of fun.

As for the serious FW racers, I have a lot as respect for them racing in high wind/rough seas

I consider the US147 in the same category as a formula board, regarding this topic.
Of course it will be less physical because of its shape, but you will be using pretty much the same big rigs on it.

I didn't bring this topic up to discuss about US147 versus Formula.

It is rather my perception that a lot of recreational windsurfers don't really like the very wide boards (US147 or Formula or even the other wide slalom boards of > 80 cm width).

I wonder if it's just an imago thing, or are they perhaps afraid of the big rigs ?

Mark H, I agree with you, planing is also my main concern.
And yes, my hat off for the guys that do Formula competition in winds up to 20 knots on a rough sea.
I've seen a formula competition in Leba / Poland in 2007 with all the stars. Very impressive indeed !

My reactions as longboard racer in the north central US with a only a limited interest in formula sailing: my sailing is different because my conditions are different. I live more than 1,000 miles from steady winds, because I'm more than 1,000 miles from a sea breeze.

I'm in a lot of races at organized events with wind speeds that are often less than 5 mph and never get over 10 mph and where the winners are often on Division II boards. And sometimes on the next day (in the spring or fall) the wind speeds go from nearly 20 to over 30 and almost all of the winners are on slalom boards. Very few sailors use formula boards in either of those conditions.

Do I have better things than formula to do in "light wind conditions"... certainly yes. Big yes! With a longboard I can and do windsurf in conditions that coastal sailors think of as "no wind." My "light wind" conditions are too light for planing anything. Those days(most of the summer) call for a longboard because my Equipe will glide faster than my X-186 formula board will schlog. It's not the size of the rig, my most used sail in the summer is a 10.0.

In my book wind conditions are "light" (4-8 mph, coastal sailors are on paddle boards or not on the water at all), "moderate" ( 9-12 mph, good sailors with big rigs can plane formula boards), "strong" (13-18 mph, longboards can plane), & "high" (19 mph on up, slalom boards rule). Maybe I have the speeds wrong. Using words instead of numbers to describe wind conditions guarantees misunderstanding. Inland sailors who don't have to overcome tides or currents call "light wind" some wind speeds that coastal sailors think of as "no wind".

I had to use a speed convertor, because I'm more used to knots than mph, but I think you have the speeds right.
It's indeed a good point you make about the conditions that are decisive. With very light winds you need a lot of wind stability to have fun on a Formula. Too many wind lulls below 7-8 knots and shlogging will be the punishment.

I'm afraid that my experience on longboards are limited to the board that I've used +/- 23 years ago when I started to learn windsurfing. It was a BIC windsurf board of 320m. Even not that long. But I still remember that these boards were indeed more useful in non-planing gliding conditions.
Those days I was very eager to learn ASAP all windsufing skills necessary to get on much smaller boards. It looked cooler. I still remember that I was often on MUCH too small boards to be able to comfortably plane, but hey it was the trend, right ?

Like many other windsurfers, I also had my period of non-activity (rather reduced activity), when my child was smaller and demanding me to stay more at home with my family.
It was only in 2006 that I really picked up windsurfing again and that I suddenly realized that the passed 10 years had turned windsurfing world upside down. Boards had become really wide, according to my standards. Rigs had become much bigger for the same wind conditions.
At the end of 2007, after much forum reading, I decided to buy my F161. Its purpose was clear to me. Planing with almost no wind. Soon you realise of course that the laws of physics cannot be broken. You do need wind to plane. For me that is 7-8 knots minimum and yes preferrably stable enough to avoid shlogging.

The thing is that with us on the North Sea in Belgium and Holland, you do have a lot of light steady winds in the summer, but I don't see too many recreational surfers on those very wide formula alike boards, taking advantage of it. The same can be said of long boards, by the way. I almost don't see any of these at all.

I still think it is an imago thing, combined with the rather big costs of this equipment when you buy it new. There is a lot of good 2nd hand equipment available, though.
Another factor is kite surfing, I think. Many of my old windsurf buddies still believe that they plane earlier with a kite than with a windsurfer.

I don't think formula will ever be very popular in the US. I live in Dallas, TX where we have pretty good winds fall, winter and spring, and then the doldrums in July, August and September. Most of the area sailors get plenty of "slalom" type sailing opportunities for 3/4 of the year.

I raced long boards for about 18 years, then a couple on course/slalom, but changed to Formula about 7 years ago when I got my butt kicked by the formula guys with me still on my course/slalom board.

Now I only race 3-4 times a year, but love to get on my formula F160 when the winds are 8-15 knots and everyone else is slogging 50-60 % of the time. A few long board guys are out, but I have to admit that while racing a long board is great fun, just cruising around is rather boring for me. If I must go out in light winds (less than 8 knots), I usually do some freestyle on my 1985 Mistral Superlight or on my formula board.

I think the issue with the lack of interest in formula is the cost of the big rigs (sail, boom and mast) and the perceived "hard to handle" large sails. This will be the same issue with the Ultra Sonic 147 so I don't see many folks rushing out to get a 147.

The large, hard to handle sail argument isn't all that valid. I am 65 years old, weight 78 kg and have little problem with my 9.2 or 11.0 sails. The wind range that I can handle is somewhat less than the younger formula racers, but all I do is change down to a smaller size before everyone else. I have raced in over 25knots on at least 4 occasions with a 6.5 sail on my formula board. It was NOT fun, but I wanted to race.

Once you have the basics and some practice, the nice thing about formula sailing in the 10-18 knot range is that it is pretty easy and not nearly as challenging or physically demanding as many people would think. I never fall off and rarely drop the sail, you just cruse quite fast anywhere you want on the lake, passing all other sailing craft with ease.

This year I have been on my formula board 21 of the 77 days I have been sailing. A smaller percentage than in past years. I see myself sticking with a formula board until I just get too old to manage a 9 meter sail. Hopefully, this won't happen for at least another 10+ years.

Yes- some strange looks here on the beach in San Francisco as we sail our formula boards all year round in just about all wind conditions. In the summer, when its blowing 20-30k and most sailors are on 4-4.5s we regularly sail and race 9-10m2. In the fall. winter and spring when no on else is sailing in 7-12k, we sail our 11-12m rigs. We may be strange, but we certainly get the most water time.

Windsurfing appears to be wonderfully satisfying in all of its aspects. I think those who already windsurf and do not explore the joys of any particular other part of windsurfing are more likely to be held back by their current high level of satisfaction with the windsurfing they know instead of being put off by some aspect of the windsurfing they don't know.